Letters | Gambling, medical marijuana, millionaires in Congress

Jan. 15, 2014

The Kentucky Capitol. / C-J Photo

Reject gambling

There are at least two good reasons Kentuckians should reject Gov. Steve Beshearís latest attempt to introduce casino gambling to our state.

First, itís terrible public policy to bring casinos to our state since expanded gambling always fails independent cost-benefit analyses. Earl Grinols, distinguished professor of economics at Baylor University, has calculated that the social costs to the government resulting from casino gambling is $3 for every $1 generated by the activity. Clearly, casinos will cost more than they will help.

Casinos should be rejected because itís nothing less than evil that Gov. Beshear ó and legislative supporters ó would rely upon making their own citizens losers to pay the stateís bills. The gambler/citizen has to lose in order for the state to get its revenues. Indeed, itís profoundly immoral that the governor in his Jan. 7 address argued casinos in the Bluegrass would keep our tax dollars from flowing ďacross our borders.Ē Itís incredible the governor would brazenly prey on his own citizens.

Itís bad public policy and exploitation of citizens to permit casinos in our state.

JAMES A. SMITH Sr.

Louisville 40243 Ė

Medical marijuana

Hopefully the Kentucky General Assembly will do the right thing and legalize medical marijuana. This medicine has been part of human pharmacopeia for thousands of years and gives relief to a variety of illnesses that no human-created medicine can. It disturbs me to no end to hear legislators saying there is no science to back up the efficacy of marijuana.

I can only assume they havenít done research. Can marijuana be abused? Sure it can. But Oxycontin is abused to far worse effects but itís still legal. Itís far more cost effective to treat drug addiction and abuse than it is to incarcerate people. Kentucky needs to do the right thing and allow legal access to this medicine that can benefit so many people in need.

DAVID FITTS

Lexington, Ky. 40502 Ė

Marijuana tax

I love it when politicians try to legislate medical practice. It is, invariably, a mess. Although I would not be one to take advantage of its availability, I am very much for the legalization of marijuana. But letís not call it medical. The vast majority of buyers of ďmedicalĒ marijuana are recreational users. So, Kentucky politicians, donít try to practice medicine. If you want to legalize marijuana, just regulate it, tax it and do it.

MARK MARTIN

Corydon, Ind. 47112 Ė

Millionaires in Congress

It is not surprising to learn that more than 50 percent of members of Congress are millionaires, given the wealth that is needed to have access to power. What would be more illuminating is to compare the wealth of new members of Congress with their wealth after having served for a couple of terms. It is astounding how some public servants are able to accumulate extraordinary wealth.

The article, however, mixed statistics. The article listed the assets of members of Congress and compared it to the income of the average American. It would be more accurate to compare the assets or the income of members of Congress with those of the average American.